Minister Hoekstra: Contribution To Brussels Can Be Billions Higher

Minister Hoekstra: Contribution to Brussels can be Billions Higher. According to Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra, the Dutch flow of money to Brussels will grow by billions if the European Commission gets its way with its proposals for the multi-annual budget 2021-2027.

Hoekstra emphasised Thursday in the Lower House that the discussions on the coming budget, and thus the remittance, are still in full swing.

The minister addressed in the House of Representatives about the “maximum damage” that the Netherlands could run through the plans.

The so-called annual payment to the European Union is rising from more than 7.3 billion pounds in 2021 to 8 billion in 2027, according to the “current path”.

Also, the Dutch government, if it is up to the committee, loses its discount on that contribution.

It means that the payment will increase by 1.0 billion pounds in 2021, rising to 2.1 to 2.6 billion extra in 2027.

The Netherlands received a discount of around 956 million pounds annually on the multi-year budget for 2014-2020.

It is made up of a fixed discount of 608 million pounds and a lower VAT payment, saving some 347 million pounds.

The concession was once made because the Netherlands has been one of the most significant net contributors to the EU budget for years.

The current contribution is 1 percent of the size of the national economy (GNI).

Because of the departure of the United Kingdom, the European Commission wants to increase the payment to 1.11 percent.